Physical appearance once is a significant in many cultures and this idea was true for both Greeks and Roman. Through clothing distinction was made between the jewelry, Hairstyles, Perfumes, and footwear. Different roles of the empires, like civilians, soldiers, or magicians.
Clothing styles demonstrate social aspects like: personal statues, religious beliefs and magic. It also depends on the body shape, health and age.
Costume in Greek and Roman:
They had a lot of different customs, such as military, religious, and theatrical costumes:
Greek Costume:
Greek men believed that they had to cover their body for physical reasons. Some intended on protecting themselves from elements or against the climate. The primitive type was rectangle of seamless cloth, they let their right arm uncovered, and wore a ballet on the waist. On the other hand, Greek women costumes were basically shaped of the rectangle of cloth. They also wore a famous costume called the Dorian. The Dorian was a dress worn by women as a shawl with two fibulae and one side open, commonly the left side. Some women changed it by shortening the waist-length, and used a flap to cover their head or to veil their face. Roman dress was more conspicuous with symbolism than Greek attire. For example, muscle cuirass has symbolized power.
Roman Costume:
There were generally two types of civilian dress: The first one was the indumenta, which were slid throughout the head. They took it off only before sleeping. Customarily, in Rome, common people wore a tunic of two pieces of linen or woolen cloth stitched together and fastened on the waist. The tunic was long in the front, reaching the knee. The sleeves were wide and long which were called the dalmatics. Women had variety of dresses. Roman ladies wore a short tunic of the best silks. Decorated with gold fringes, women wore half-sleeved linen sapparum, that was held with a tight belt around the hip called a succincta.
Jewelry:
Is a symbol of power and prestige, has existed as long as humans, and has been worn by men and women. It has generally been made with different materials such as gold, gemstones, and other valuable materials. Jewelry in Greece during Hellenistic periods was mainly gold. Although Greece did not have many sources of Gold until the empire was extended from Persia in the fourth century BC.
Gems with Scenes of the Torjan War,Roman, The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.@Rawan Alsalim.
Jewelry was presented as gifts for several occasions such as newborn babies, birthdays and weddings.
For men, they mainly wore rings and hair wreaths as part of jewelry. As for women, they had a broader variety of jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets on their upper arms or thighs, and diadems or golden nets in their hair. Greek jewelry of iconography confirms that women were intended to get the men’s attraction. They decorate their jewelry with different shapes, such as sacred creatures to protect them from evil. In the Hellenistic period, enamels, garnets, emeralds, and glass pastes became fashionable as beads or inlay to add color to the golf jewelry. Romans adapted the Greek style until the first century. The design of the jewelry was simple and more focused on the gemstones and the use of color that show the beauty of the stones. Special gemstones were chosen for certain images like Bacchus on amethyst as a safeguard against drunkenness; the Sun god Sol is depicted on heliotrope, and Demeter, goddess of crops, on green jasper to symbolize growth and abundance. In the 2nd century, Gold was worn only for people who could afford it.
Hairstyles:
Both Romans & Greeks valued body perfection. For their appearance, they use adornments such as jewelry, perfumes, and cosmetics, to determine their personality. Not only did their uniform include clothing but it also included hair styles, breads, jewelry & accessories, cosmetics.
Breads played a very important role in Rome. Women held their hair with a simple red or purple band or in different shapes whereas men wore a variety of caps. Both men and women used to curl their hair.
Women hairstyles also changed quickly in the ancient especially in Rome. Everyday they had to add something new to their hair, like wigs, and they changed the wigs to follow up the latest styles. However, in Greece women covered their heads
Women with a long hair, Greek, The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.@Rawan Alsalim
Perfumes
were very popular in the ancient time, maybe even more than now. They used it for different purposes. For example, perfumes were used to hide bad smell. They added fragrance to wine. They developed fragrance and it changed rapidly over the century.
The ancient highly valued the beauty of the body. Those men and women had discovered the mirror especially women, the Greek created an early version of the ‘compact’ a ‘box’ mirror made of two metal disks fastened by a hinge.
Most Romans and Greeks attempted to use extreme dangerous ways and measures for the purpose of being more beautiful. Women used different cosmetics such as white lead (lead carbonate), some used scum sliver, which is poison and many Greek women died from it. They would go through all that for the sake of beauty. There were a lot of recipes for skin treatments mixed with ingredients from barley and eggs to more exotic components including milk. As for grey hair and baldness were also common, they massaged the scalp with either bear grease or ointment made from worms.
Footwear:
In Rome, the footwear expressed the person’s social status.
Most types of shoes reached the ankle and had a flat cord. The colors of shoes were mostly red, green, yellow and white. The slipper sandal had become very popular.
In Greek, both men and women wore Sandals in many styles such as marble models.
Pair of Slipper, Roman, The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.@Rawan Alsalim
Bibliography:
Bleiberg, Edward I. Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. 5 vols. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 June 2011.
Boucher, François. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1967. Print.
DeBrohun, Jeri. "POWER DRESSING IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME. (Cover story)." History Today 51, no. 2 (February 2001): 18. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed June 22, 2011).
Chadour-Sampson, Anna Beatriz. "Jewelry." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 277-283. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 June 2011.
Pair of Slippers, Roman, A.D. 300-400. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.
Women with a long hair, Greek, made in Rhodes . 590 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.
Gems with scenes of the Trojan war, Greek, made in south Italy, 400-300 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.
Ancient Fashion (Greece and Rome)
Physical appearance once is a significant in many cultures and this idea was true for both Greeks and Roman. Through clothing distinction was made between the jewelry, Hairstyles, Perfumes, and footwear. Different roles of the empires, like civilians, soldiers, or magicians.Table of Contents
Costume in Greek and Roman:
They had a lot of different customs, such as military, religious, and theatrical costumes:Greek Costume:
Greek men believed that they had to cover their body for physical reasons. Some intended on protecting themselves from elements or against the climate. The primitive type was rectangle of seamless cloth, they let their right arm uncovered, and wore a ballet on the waist. On the other hand, Greek women costumes were basically shaped of the rectangle of cloth. They also wore a famous costume called the Dorian. The Dorian was a dress worn by women as a shawl with two fibulae and one side open, commonly the left side. Some women changed it by shortening the waist-length, and used a flap to cover their head or to veil their face.Roman dress was more conspicuous with symbolism than Greek attire. For example, muscle cuirass has symbolized power.
Roman Costume:
There were generally two types of civilian dress:The first one was the indumenta, which were slid throughout the head. They took it off only before sleeping. Customarily, in Rome, common people wore a tunic of two pieces of linen or woolen cloth stitched together and fastened on the waist. The tunic was long in the front, reaching the knee. The sleeves were wide and long which were called the dalmatics. Women had variety of dresses. Roman ladies wore a short tunic of the best silks. Decorated with gold fringes, women wore half-sleeved linen sapparum, that was held with a tight belt around the hip called a succincta.
Jewelry:
Is a symbol of power and prestige, has existed as long as humans, and has been worn by men and women. It has generally been made with different materials such as gold, gemstones, and other valuable materials. Jewelry in Greece during Hellenistic periods was mainly gold. Although Greece did not have many sources of Gold until the empire was extended from Persia in the fourth century BC.Jewelry was presented as gifts for several occasions such as newborn babies, birthdays and weddings.
For men, they mainly wore rings and hair wreaths as part of jewelry. As for women, they had a broader variety of jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets on their upper arms or thighs, and diadems or golden nets in their hair. Greek jewelry of iconography confirms that women were intended to get the men’s attraction.
They decorate their jewelry with different shapes, such as sacred creatures to protect them from evil.
In the Hellenistic period, enamels, garnets, emeralds, and glass pastes became fashionable as beads or inlay to add color to the golf jewelry.
Romans adapted the Greek style until the first century.
The design of the jewelry was simple and more focused on the gemstones and the use of color that show the beauty of the stones. Special gemstones were chosen for certain images like Bacchus on amethyst as a safeguard against drunkenness; the Sun god Sol is depicted on heliotrope, and Demeter, goddess of crops, on green jasper to symbolize growth and abundance. In the 2nd century, Gold was worn only for people who could afford it.
Hairstyles:
Both Romans & Greeks valued body perfection. For their appearance, they use adornments such as jewelry, perfumes, and cosmetics, to determine their personality.Not only did their uniform include clothing but it also included hair styles, breads, jewelry & accessories, cosmetics.
Breads played a very important role in Rome. Women held their hair with a simple red or purple band or in different shapes whereas men wore a variety of caps. Both men and women used to curl their hair.
Women hairstyles also changed quickly in the ancient especially in Rome. Everyday they had to add something new to their hair, like wigs, and they changed the wigs to follow up the latest styles. However, in Greece women covered their heads
Perfumes
were very popular in the ancient time, maybe even more than now. They used it for different purposes. For example, perfumes were used to hide bad smell. They added fragrance to wine. They developed fragrance and it changed rapidly over the century.The ancient highly valued the beauty of the body. Those men and women had discovered the mirror especially women, the Greek created an early version of the ‘compact’ a ‘box’ mirror made of two metal disks fastened by a hinge.
Most Romans and Greeks attempted to use extreme dangerous ways and measures for the purpose of being more beautiful. Women used different cosmetics such as white lead (lead carbonate), some used scum sliver, which is poison and many Greek women died from it. They would go through all that for the sake of beauty. There were a lot of recipes for skin treatments mixed with ingredients from barley and eggs to more exotic components including milk. As for grey hair and baldness were also common, they massaged the scalp with either bear grease or ointment made from worms.
Footwear:
In Rome, the footwear expressed the person’s social status.Most types of shoes reached the ankle and had a flat cord. The colors of shoes were mostly red, green, yellow and white. The slipper sandal had become very popular.
In Greek, both men and women wore Sandals in many styles such as marble models.
Bibliography:
Bleiberg, Edward I. Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. 5 vols. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 June 2011.Boucher, François. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1967. Print.
DeBrohun, Jeri. "POWER DRESSING IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME. (Cover story)." History Today 51, no. 2 (February 2001): 18. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed June 22, 2011).
Chadour-Sampson, Anna Beatriz. "Jewelry." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 277-283. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 June 2011.
Pair of Slippers, Roman, A.D. 300-400. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.
Women with a long hair, Greek, made in Rhodes . 590 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.
Gems with scenes of the Trojan war, Greek, made in south Italy, 400-300 B.C. The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, CA.